Island woman 'thrilled' by invitation to Queen's garden party

She's got a dress picked out, ordered some fascinators and is practising her curtsy. But Donna Hume says even if she doesn't get to meet the Queen, just being in her backyard is thrilling enough.

The Murray River, P.E.I., woman received an invitation last week to attend Queen Elizabeth'sRoyal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace on May 29.

"It's very exciting. I can hardly believe it," she said.

Hume, who works at the Department of National Defence, said on a tip from a colleague, she applied online for an invitation in January and then "just crossed my fingers."

On Friday, she got an email congratulating her for beingaccepted. She and her husband are to pick up the invitation at Canada House in Trafalgar Square when they arrive in London. It will also include a package outlining the security, agenda and, of course, dress code day dress or trouser suit with a hat, gloves optional, for the ladies, she said, and a lounge suit and morning coatfor the gentlemen.

Grandmother loved Royal Family

"I actually have a dress already," Hume said. "I bought a couple and I've never worn them and I ordered a few fascinators Sunday night."

Meeting the Queen has been something she's hoped to do ever since she was a child, when her grandmother first sparked her interest in the Royal Family.

"She loved the royals and she loved the Queen and even when we were quite young she would make sure that we knew who they were," Hume said.

She saw the Queen two years ago during a visit to England, but Buckingham Palace was closed to tours at the time. Now, she'll finally be able to get behind the gates.

'Just thrilled to be there'

Thousands of people will be in attendance, so "the odds are pretty slim" she'll get to speak to the Queen personally. But she hopes she'll be ready if the opportunity presents itself.

"I am really and truly a big fat chicken so I think if I ever got that close it's kind of overwhelming to even think about it, like I don't know if I'd be in the moment. I don't know if I'd be brave enough," she said.

"I'll be just thrilled to be there and just see everything, to be behind that gate and on her lawn and see what she sees, that's thrilling to me."

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